Hermann von Bonstetten

Hermann von Bonstetten (* before 1314; † 23 August 1360 ) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery of St. Gallen from 1333 to 1360 .

Life

Hermann von Bonstetten was a descendant of the baronial von Bonstetten families in the Zurich branch of the family. Since 1314 he has been a novice and conventual from Einsiedeln . On October 25, 1333 Pope John XXII put him . as administrator. Already on December 14th of the same year that Hermann appointed Abbot. Three days later (December 17th, 1333) he obtained permission to be ordained by any prelate. Hermann's political connection belonged to the party of the Pope, who had also appointed him and on July 18, 1334 asked him to assist the newly elected Bishop of Constance against Emperor Ludwig . When the Pope died, however, Hermann changed the party to the Emperor, and on March 10, 1335, Ludwig confirmed the regalia and all other fiefs and privileges to him, as documented in documents.

As recorded on June 9, 1344, he succeeded in redeeming an important bailiwick of many localities, which the Count of Werdenberg had pledged from the Reich for 600 marks. For this he had to take 630 marks from the citizens of St. Gallen and hand over the Clanx Castle as security. Ludwig's successor, King Charles IV , confirmed this trade on May 1, 1345 and increased the deposit to 1200 marks. This also gave Hermann the regalia again, on February 14, 1348, on February 16, he confirmed Hermann's pledge over Appenzell, which he also (awarded on September 23, 1354) subject to a market and customs privilege. This completed the expansion of the abbot's rule in Appenzell.

The city of St. Gallen continued to strive for independence under Hermann. Hermann had to give in; at the beginning of his reign (May 9, 1334) he confirmed the Handfeste of Abbot William . In 1344 he lent the ungeld and empowered the council to control measures and levy fines. When the citizens demanded in 1353 that they could use the community hallway to bleach linen, Hermann had to give in again. His rights over the city, which Charles IV confirmed to him during a visit in the same year to purchase relics, he used only formally. A year later, in 1354, it can be proven that the city elected a mayor for the first time and appointed him chairman of the council. The Pope Clement VI. confirmed the privileges conferred by the Roman Curia on October 7, 1352 and his successor Innocent VI. on February 5, 1353.

Act

The nurse, Provost Ulrich von Enne, appears next to Hermann von Bonstetten - without the cause being apparent - in 1346 and 1347. The abbot donated masses in Wil and made donations to the hospital in St. Gallen and the infirmary near Linsebühl. This shows his mildness and his religious sense, as Anton Gössi argues.

literature

• Anton Gössi: Short biographies of the abbots . In: Johannes Duft, Anton Gössi, Werner Vogler (eds.): The St. Gallen Abbey . St. Gallen 1986, ISBN 3-906616-15-0 , p. 141 .

Web links

• Magdalen Bless-Grabher: Bonstetten, Hermann von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

predecessor	Office	successor
Rudolf III. from Montfort	Abbot of St. Gallen 1333–1360	Georg von Wildenstein